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Mystery Dog Illness Spreads to Michigan: Is it Contagious to Humans?

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dogs kissing girlSix dogs in Ann Arbor, Mich., have died after becoming violently sick with a mystery illness that has symptoms similar to dogs that have been sickened in Ohio. Dozens more have been treated for the illness.

Dr. Lindsay Ruland of the Emergency Veterinary Hospital told WXYZ that she has treated 20 to 30 dogs with symptoms including bloody diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy since August. Six of those dogs died only 12 to 24 hours after becoming ill.

In all six cases, the owners of the dogs were also sick, Ruhland told the Columbus Dispatch. She said that after treating the dogs, she and her staff had mild flu-like symptoms, including abdominal pain, nausea and difficulty breathing.

“Traditionally we don’t pass viruses to our pets. This year, I think that there is potential that we are,” she said, adding that our dogs may also pass the virus to us.

Aarika Pederson, whose 11-year-old dog Brutus was successfully treated for symptoms of the virus, told WXYZ that she herself has not been feeling well.

“I’ve had this stomach pain that just comes, that’s right beneath my ribs,” she said.

Erica Hawkins, communications director for the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture (ODA), which is testing samples from 36 sickened dogs in that state, told the Dispatch there is no indication that the owners of the Ohio dogs were sick themselves.

The three Ohio dogs that died of the illness had been staying at a Cincinnatti doggie daycare center, which temporarily closed and replaced its flooring. Nothing was found in the facility’s food, water or environment that could have triggered the illnesses.

So far, the ODA results for speculated causes, such as Salmonella and hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, have come back negative. Circovirus, a disease that usually affects pigs rather than dogs, was found in the stool sample of one of the sickened dogs.

The Michigan Department of Community Health and the state veterinary office are currently investigating the Ann Arbor cases.

To help prevent this illness from spreading, veterinarians recommend that pet parents frequently wash their hands and use hand sanitizer.

If your dog has bloody diarrhea and/or is vomiting, take him immediately to the vet or an animal emergency hospital. Ohio veterinarians who treat dogs with these symptoms are asked to call the state Division of Animal Health at 614-728-6220.

PHOTO: Tobyotter

The post Mystery Dog Illness Spreads to Michigan: Is it Contagious to Humans? appeared first on Find A Vet.


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